Since antiquity, humankind has dreamed of creating intelligent machines.
The invention of the computer and the breathtaking pace of
technological progress appear to be bringing the realisation of this
dream within our grasp. Scientists and engineers across the world are
working on the development of intelligent robots, which are poised to
become an integral part of all areas of human life. Robots are to do the
housework, look after the children, care for the elderly... Yet, the
ultimate vision goes even further, envisioning a merger of man and
machine that will throw off the biological shackles of evolution and
finally make eternal life a reality. Yet of all people, a pioneer of
computer development and artificial intelligence, former MIT professor
Joseph Weizenbaum, has become one of the harshest critics of these
visions of technological omnipotence. Wary of unstinting devotion to
progress, he keeps asking: Do we need all this? And what will it mean to
be human in a world run by machines?

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